In keeping with a long tradition and in the interests of increasing voter knowledge prior to next week’s critically important mid-term elections, we asked all the candidates whose districts include Lyme and/or Old Lyme to send us a brief biography and photo, and answer four questions that we posed to them. The questions came from you — our large and diverse community of readers. We were overwhelmed by the sheer number of questions you sent to us, which we interpret as a clear sign of the level of interest in this election, and are extremely disappointed we could not include more of your questions.
We are delighted to report that all six candidates responded to our questionnaire and are pleased now to publish their responses. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the candidates for taking the time to answer our questions and for adhering to our strict word deadlines — 100 words for the bio and 300 words for each response.
The questions were:
- What is the biggest problem facing the state, why is it the biggest problem, and what would you do to help solve it?
- What do you think of our leadership in Washington?
- What policies or infrastructure do you support at the state level for fostering or managing growth in you district?
- Why are you running for this position?
The candidates are:
House District #23 (includes Lyme and Old Lyme)
Devin Carney (R – Incumbent)
Matt Pugliese (D)
Senate District #20 (includes Old Lyme)
Paul Formica (R – Incumbent)
Martha Marx (D)
Senate District #33 (includes Lyme)
Norm Needleman (D) Essex First Selectman
Melissa Ziobron (R) State Rep. House District #34
Click on the candidate’s name above to read their biography and responses to our questions.
For the record and again in keeping with a long tradition, we will not be making any candidate endorsements.
Happy reading … and voting!